Patriots Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels Denver-Bound

Multiple sources have now reported that on Sunday night (around 8:00 PM MST), January 11th, 2009, the Denver Broncos hired New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their next head football coach.

The story was first reported by ESPN's Senior NFL Writer Chris Mortensen and later confirmed by NFL.com's inside man Adam Schefter. The headline came at the end of a busy weekend of playoff action.

McDaniels was reported to be a favorite for the position from the beginning despite analysis that suggested the Broncos should make a run at a coach with a defensive background. The rumors were confirmed when Denver's chief operating officer Joe Ellis made a second trip to Massachusetts to conduct a follow-up interview with McDaniels that was said to last for over four hours.

It was also reported that McDaniels and Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier were the two finalists for the position.

The position of head coach has been open since December 30th, 2008 when the decision was made to fire Mike Shanahan, the head coach and GM of 14 years. Shanahan's firing was the biggest coaching change surprise of the offseason, and the job in Denver instantly became the most desirable available.

Josh McDaniels made a name for himself as the mastermind behind the offensive juggernaut that was the 2008 New England Patriots, which ranked first in the league in just about every offensive category. He then showed his real talent, converting career-backup Matt Cassel into a solid starting quarterback on the fly in the first weeks of the 2009 season after franchise quarterback Tom Brady went down.

Expect McDaniels to work closely with the young Broncos offense, especially fourth year stars Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall, and other young talent such as Peyton Hillis, Anthony Alridge, and Ryan Clady.

Defensively, Schefter has reported that a Broncos source expects the new defensive coordinator to be former San Fransicso 49ers head coach Mike Nolan.

Please stay tuned to the Denver Broncos community for further analysis of the McDaniels signing and predictions for the 2009 season.

McDaniels will be formally introduced to the Denver press and fans in a press conference that is being held at the Broncos facility at 5:00 PM MST on Monday, January 12th (7:00 PM EST). The video feed will be streaming live on www.denverbroncos.com.